Keywords

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) are offered as a blueprint for transforming the activity on the planet towards sustainable development. The prominence of sustainable development in international environmental conferences and policies has aided in its global adoption as a conceptual framework for addressing environmental issues at a variety of policy levels. SDG-12 strives to break the current cycle of economic growth, resource usage and environmental degradation, which has fuelled unsustainable global development for decades. Additionally, the divide between developed and developing countries in terms of consumption and production widens. Hence, while producing countries bear responsibility for natural resource depletion, pollution and other negative consequences of their production, wealthy countries’ practical and legal responsibilities are significantly high due to their high consumption levels. An increase in consumption is often associated with an improved quality of life, which creates a conflict between the pillars of sustainable development and the environmental well-being of the planet. This issue becomes more complicated since cross-border resource management methods are more controversial than cooperative. Thus, sustainable consumption and production are one of the most cost-effective and successful methods to accomplish economic development, minimise environmental consequences and improve human well-being (Amos and Lydgate 2020).

The foundations of SDG-12 go back to 1972, when the Club of Rome analysed a computer simulation of a planet with limited natural resources. According to this simulation, which examines the effects of economic and population growth on the planet, if there is no growth trend, the planet will show a sudden and irrevocable decline in terms of population and industrial production in 2072. This report, called The Limits to Growth (LTG), validated its data from 1972–2000 with real empirical data (Monnet et al. 2014). The concept of responsible consumption and production gained importance over time and was promoted by international organisations. For example, the report “Our Common Future” (1987) by the Brundtland Commission (formerly World Commission on Environment and Development) underlined the importance of reducing global poverty, as well as the disparity in consumption patterns between wealthy and poor, allowing for debate on consumption levels (Gasper et al. 2019). Similarly, during the UN Conference on Environment and Development (known as the Earth Summit) in 1992, another call was made to “reduce and eliminate unsustainable production and consumption patterns” by The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. Moreover, during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 10-year frameworks of programmes for the actions were introduced. As it was further elaborated during the 2012 UN Conference, “protection of the natural resources and following sustainable consumption and production” is essential to achieve global sustainable development (Gasper et al. 2019).

Sustainable development goal 12 calls for “responsible consumption and production”. Global production and consumption are significant driving factors of the global economy but have led to the destruction of the planet’s natural ecosystem and resources. To reach the objective of sustainable consumption and production patterns, people must quickly transform how societies produce and consume. SDG-12 promotes resource and energy efficiency, the creation of sustainable infrastructure, increased access to green and decent employment and improved quality of life. These goals can be achieved through water management, waste management, sustainable products and services, sustainable supply chains and synergies with circular-based renewable energy systems (Khaw-ngern et al. 2021).

To ensure sustainable economic development for all, humanity must reduce its carbon footprint by changing its production and consumption habits. As highlighted in SDG-12, it is important to use natural resources efficiently and to protect the environment from toxic waste pollutants (UNDP 2021). Encouraging industries, businesses and consumers to recycle and reduce waste is important since both of them have roles in transforming consumption into sustainable patterns by 2030 (UNDP 2021). Industries’ water, soil and air pollution concerns can be exceeded by the “Rs” concept, which covers rethinking, reducing, redesigning, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, recycling and repurposing (Khaw-ngern et al. 2021). Figure 14.1 summarises the targets of SDG-12.

Fig. 14.1
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Targets of SDG-12 (UNDP 2021)

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The transformation towards more responsible and sustainable consumption and production is essential to slow the effects of climate change and prevent further irreparable damage to the planet. The production of materials and goods has a range of environmental impacts, and we are already witnessing the profound effects of destructive production patterns. Unregulated production has led to mass deforestation, excessive waste and other ecological destruction. It also promotes an inefficient use of resources. SDG-12 is significantly important for the success of many other goals due to their interdependent nature.

Responsible consumption and production can promote the transformation of a linear economy to a circular economy (CE) through sustainability and continuity. A circular production and consumption system prioritises the optimisation of raw materials to create sustainable products. These products can be easily maintained, reused, repaired, recycled and/or refurbished to extend their lifetimes and even create novel products. A circular system also promotes waste reduction at every phase in the extraction-production-consumption cycle (European Investment Bank 2020).

Consequently, SDG-12 is one of the most effective goals that meet the CE action plan targets. To exemplify, a plan of action which says explicitly that CE is a system-wide solution aimed at fostering sustainable consumption and production methods has been released by the European Union and therefore helping to achieve the goals set by this particular SDG (Rodriguez-Anton et al. 2019; Dantas et al. 2021). Furthermore, excess resource use, energy and waste production are minimised through data collection and surveillance, indicating a convergence with the CE principles on the reduction of raw resource use and waste and pollution design (Andrews 2015; Inoue et al. 2020).

The first function of the CE is smarter product use and manufacturing. Three strategies used to perform this function are reuse, rethink and reduce. A strategy of reuse could be explained as making a product redundant by eliminating or replacing its function with a new (digital) product or service. Rethink can be described as increasing the product usage intensity (e.g. sharing product). In addition, reducing refers to decreasing resource and material consumption by increasing product efficiency. Extending the lifespan of a product and its parts is the second function of the CE. Reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture and repurpose are the five strategies to fulfil the function. Reuse strategy is reprocessing of an abandoned product that is still in good shape and performed its original function by another customer. The strategy of repair can be described as the inspection and maintenance of a damaged product so that the original function can be prolonged. Moreover, the strategy of refurbishing is restoring and updating an outdated product. Remanufacturing is the use of scrapped products in the manufacturing of novel products with the same purpose. Repurposing is using the scrapped product’s elements in a novel product with different purposes. The last function of the CE is the useful application of materials. Recycle and recover are the two strategies utilised to satisfy this function. The strategy of recycling is recovering waste materials for reprocessing into new goods, materials or substances. However, energy recovery and reprocessing into materials for use as fuels or backfilling processes are not included. Finally, the strategy of recovery refers to incinerating waste materials to obtain energy recovery (Iordachi 2020; Al et al. 2021).

Responsible consumption and production are critical elements of a sustainable future. This is due to the intrinsic environmental impact of production processes and consumption patterns. In making these processes more responsible, the goal is to minimise the environmental impact of production and consumption while also ensuring that everyone has adequate resources. There is an ongoing debate as to whether it is the duty of consumers, businesses or governments to drive the change towards more sustainable consumption and production patterns. Consumers are often expected to drive this change through their individual choices and actions; however, they are extremely limited by several factors, including societal and economic norms and the market incentives of globalised capitalism. Sustainable consumption is likely to become more feasible when sustainable products and consumption trends are more mainstream and incentivised. Even if enough individual consumers could collectively change their consumption patterns, however, the environmental impact of production would continue to devastate (Stevens 2010). Businesses must also be held responsible for the shift to more sustainable production and consumption patterns. The productivity and efficiency of businesses could apply to using the world’s scarce resources more sustainably. However, competition between businesses with very limited regulation benefits business models that produce more at lower costs, typically at the expense of the environment (Tukker et al. 2008). With a largely unregulated market regarding environmental impact, the onus of sustainability then falls on governments. Governments can incentivise individuals and groups to consume and produce more sustainably. On the individual level, governments can encourage responsible consumption by subsidising sustainable products, such as electric vehicles and renewable energy sources (Stevens 2010). Governments can also discourage certain unsustainable consumption habits using taxes (Stevens 2010). Governments and international organisations can take similar approaches with corporations, rewarding them with subsidies for sustainable production methods and penalising overconsumption of scarce resources and excessive environmental impact.

By 2050, it is estimated that the natural resources required to sustain existing lifestyles will need the equivalent of nearly three planets at the current rate of population increase and consumption (McNeill 2020). Obviously, change is necessary, and everyone from the manufacturer to the ultimate customer must participate. This essential change will lead to new business areas such as reducing food loss at all stages of the food supply chain, reducing the amount of plastic waste, sustainable construction, decrease in fossil-fuel subsidies (production and consumption), etc. Also, this goal has affected people’s daily lives by implementing a new phrase: “Circular Economy”. SDG-12 can be named as “Starting Point of Transformation from Linear to Circular Globally”. The fact of being a responsible consumer/producer will manage to be more circular from every aspect in the future. Being successful in this direction is not easy at all. This is a process that can be achieved with the whole world acting together since global material consumption is predicted to rise 15% by 2030 and 75% by 2060 to 167 billion metric tonnes. Growth in low- and middle-income economies aiming to equal high-income nations’ level of living might be a major driver of material consumption (The Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2020, 2020).

A circular economy scenario is particularly essential given the region’s economic importance of the extractive industries and poor recycling rates. Production and consumption trends are expected to alter significantly. For instance, in Latin America and the Caribbean, it is expected that by 2030, more than one million jobs would have been created in net terms, owing to an energy transition and efforts to keep global average temperature rise well below 2 °C over pre-industrial levels (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean 2020). Job creation in industries such as metal reprocessing and wood reprocessing would more than balance the losses associated with the extraction of minerals and other raw materials in a circular economy scenario. This is because reprocessing’s value chain is longer and more labour-intensive than mining’s, and higher recycling rates would raise demand for waste management services.

The worldwide food waste management industry is one of the most important markets of interest to those who follow the SDG-12 agenda. Grand View Research estimated the market to be worth $34.22 billion in 2019 and expects it to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2020 to 2027 (Grand View Research 2020). The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has discovered that one-third of all food produced is wasted, necessitating supply chain improvements. Some of the current emerging developments in the industry include gasification for converting food waste into combustible gases, anaerobic digestion for extracting energy and nutrients from produce and AI systems that forecast demand (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 2021).

Another important industry is the plastic waste industry. Plastic usage has increased as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Single-use plastics, including masks, personal protective equipment and sanitiser bottles, have been deemed necessary for controlling the spread of the disease. Disposable face mask sales have grown by 20,650% globally, from 800 million in 2019 to 166 billion in 2020, resulting in a massive increase in plastic waste and is expected to reach 750 billion by 2028 (Grand View Research 2021). Better plastic production and waste management techniques can lead to more responsible plastic consumption and production. Dematerialisation, substitution and improved biodegradability are some of the most popular plastic production techniques. An effective after-use plastics economy with the efficient collection and reprocessing is required to decrease leakage into natural systems for improved plastic waste management. From worst to best, three possible scenarios are discussed (Lebreton and Andrady 2019).

  • First scenario: Business goes up just like today. Based on growing demand through the years, global mismanaged plastic waste nearly triples by 2060, from 80 per year to 213 per year metric tonnes.

  • Second scenario: Waste management has improved. By 2060, global unmanaged plastic waste will have decreased to 50 metric tonnes per year, thanks to improvements in waste management infrastructure, particularly in developing countries.

  • Third scenario: At the same time, less plastic is used, and management is enhanced. Waste management efforts improve in the preceding scenario, and home plastic trash will be reduced to 5% of municipal solid waste by 2040.

Governments and companies were undoubtedly working to decrease plastic trash before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, 188 nations agreed to amend the UN Basel Convention of 1989 to include plastic as a hazardous waste, and companies throughout the globe committed to increasing recycled plastic in packaging to 22% by 2025 (Global Commitment 2019 Progress Report 2019; Global Material Resources Outlook to 2060: Economic Drivers and Environmental Consequences | READ online 2019). Countries have the chance to “reset the clock” (The Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2020, 2020) and then continue their commitment to eliminating plastic and food waste as preparations to recover from COVID-19 evolve.

14.1 Companies and Use Cases

Table 14.1 presents the business models of 46 companies and use cases that employ emerging technologies and create value in SDG-12. We should highlight that one use case can be related to more than one SDG and it can make use of multiple emerging technologies. In the left column, we present the company name, the origin country, related SDGs and emerging technologies that are included. The companies and use cases are listed alphabetically.1Footnote 1

Table 14.1 Companies and use cases in SDG-12
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